Battle for Middle earth: The Elf and the Witch
by Elvish-Princess99
Summary: There's a problem in Middle Earth. Wizards from another world have entered the land,and that's beyond the power of its heroes. The Golden Three must help, but between an elf's good looks and a host of bad-luck magnets, is this battle to be their last?
1. Fangorn's Portal

**Chapter 1: Fangorn's Portal**

_A.N: Of course if you're reading this: please review! Oh, anyone who's played LotR: The Third Age will know our friends Idrial, Berethor, Hadhod, Elegost, Morwen, and Eaoden. This part follows our Middle Earthian (is that correct?) friends, as the quest begins._

_(11/7/09- More editing. This time I've adapted some of text, changed minor details. Plot remains the same, of course.)_

_Disclaimer: I wish I owned LOTR and Harry Potter. I really do, but I'm not rich or nearly as talented. _

Gandalf wasn't often wrong. In fact, excluding Moria, the old wizard had never come out worst. Even Moria didn't count in that respect. Due to that fact, that he was never actually wrong, this time everyone remaining in the fellowship was positive he'd cracked.

He had only recently narrowly escaped death -due to the Balrog being unwilling to go alone- and then only thanks to the timely arrival of a mysterious group who had promptly joined him in the fight against the Balrog.

This would, however, merely have been very brave but stupid if it hadn't been for one particular member- Idrial. In its weakened state, the Balrog had only been able to feebly grasp the wizard's ankle. Idrial had quickly cast a water spirit at its paws in panic, and had thus successfully saved the wizard's life.

Idrial, a man called Berethor, and a dwarf called Hadhod were sitting a little way from the rest, conferring with Gandalf. "But you _could _make your way to Osgiliath until I get back?" Gandalf was saying. "Yes," replied Idrial impatiently. "Berethor already had us clear it out again. But I thought you would want us to mark Frodo."

Gandalf shook his head. "Boromir already offered. I didn't refuse him because of the incident at Amon Hen, I did it because two hobbits won't attract any more attention than is unavoidable. But imagine how the Eye would be drawn to two hobbits with a guard consisting of one man, much less you three!"

Berethor could see Idrial preparing herself to answer and start what he just _knew _would be a massive argument and decided he really wanted to avoid it.

"Yes, yes. We'll do it, but hurry back, OK? Osgiliath won't remain clear for long. The orcs want it." he said hastily and without another word pulled Idrial to her feet, and motioned to Hadhod to follow. The three mounted their horses -Idrial managed to do this sullenly- and were soon beyond even Legolas' eyes.

Boromir had resumed teaching Merry and Pippin sword-fighting. Once again he was underneath two hobbits who were bent on sending him to bed with serious bruising. Aragon, Legolas and Gimli were watching this, laughing and occasionally pulling a hobbit off him. Gandalf sat on a boulder and looked around.

There it was. Two trees on either side of a large boulder had shining runes visible only to him on their trunks. '_Enter ye who hath eyes to see the gate we keep. Raise your staff and enter.'_

Obviously this was a gate made by and for wizards.

Aragorn, seeing Gandalf rise, bellowed, "Close your eyes!" Legolas and Gimli dived for cover and Boromir and Aragorn tackled the hobbits. All except the hobbits knew exactly what would happen if any eyes were exposed.

And sure enough, as Gandalf raised his staff there was a literally blinding flash. When all was quiet and Gandalf called "It's safe!", Boromir and Aragorn received kicks in areas of a sensitive nature.

"Get off us you great lummoxes!" Legolas and Gimli simultaneously exploded with laughter and winced in sympathy. "I'm-gaaaah!-choking!" Gimli gasped, face contorted.

Once the two men had sufficiently recovered and glared at the hobbits -who were in remarkably un-remorseful moods considering recent events- Gandalf gathered them round. "You six can't all come. Boromir, you don't mind watching the hobbits do you?"

The big man grinned. Defending the hobbits -with Berethor and Hadhod's help- had created a bond. "No," he replied. "I'll teach the little ones how to fight." The 'little ones' took the liberty of a few kicks to his back.

Gandalf turned to the other three. "And you lot can't come looking like you're off to kill a few orcs. Lose the weapons, and I've got robes which shall look more acceptable in an area of wizards of my friend's calibre."

The three exchanged amused glances. Legolas smirked and asked, "What's Gimli then? A wizard with height issues?" Gimli arched an eyebrow. "And you? A human with disfigured ears?"

Both grinned, then followed Aragorn's example and pulled on their robes. All three felt strange without weapons.

Boromir and the hobbits didn't help as sword-fighting resumed. The swords rang loudly in the background, reminding the three painfully of what they were missing.

"Look, can't I just have a hunting knife?" "No." "What about a throwing axe?" "No!" "My bow wouldn't be seen." "_No weapons_! If you don't drop it, I'll roast you in a fire that would put Mount Doom to shame!"

Even Boromir and the hobbits let off fighting. Merry, in the middle of a particularly enthusiastic blow with the flat of a sword, laid into Boromir's stomach without meaning to. Boromir howled.

Gandalf was quickly distracted and consequently forgot he was supposed to be lecturing the three seasoned warriors.

Suddenly a loud _noise_filled the air, the vibrations shaking the earth. "Treebeard!" the hobbits yelled happily, seeing the old Ent who smiled at their words. "Merry...Pippin... what a wonderful surprise."

He spotted Gandalf and the portal at the same time.

"I was worried it wouldn't open." he remarked. "With Saruman still here, wouldn't his spells affect it?" Gandalf shook his head. " Not if I wished to break them. I mean to see about Saruman too."

Treebeard nodded. "I came to update you, as you requested if you remember." Gandalf nodded and Treebeard went on. "He has attempted bribes. He has tried to say no trees will die if he can go, but if not, Fangorn shall wither. Here his eyes hardened. "His honey tongue has soured. We needed not his assurances of his broken power-that was clear, nor Bregalad and his cries of 'Tree Killer!' That also was clear."

He shook his head as though ridding himself of unwelcome thoughts and added by way of farewell; "I am on my way. Goodbye and good luck!" Legolas' eyes shone. "An Ent! _The_ Ent! I never dreamed of meeting a tree guardian!"

They now faced the portal. The boulder between the trees now had a sizeable hole in the middle. It was so smooth it might have melted through the rock. A shining veil hung over it, like a waterfall.

It shimmered and every now and then a blue spark would fly from the edge. Gandalf stepped through and the other three followed.

"Up for sword-fighting?" "_No._"


	2. Looking for help

_A.N: This chapter has been edited somewhat (12/4/09) but the chapter itself is essentially the same chapter_.

Hermione staggered into Grimmauld Place- she was just returning from night shift. The War was over. Voldemort was gone, and most of the Death Eaters weren't.

There seemed to be about a thousand left too, sometimes. Hermione had met two of them while on patrol. Rather predictably, a fight for her life had ensued. Two less Death Eaters loose in the world. At this rate, Azkaban was going to sink into the ocean under the weight of them. And then, just to make sure she didn't go to bed thinking she'd got off easy, she'd received some of the most shocking news of her life.

Closing the door behind her gently, she attempted to get to the stairs without attracting the attention of Tonks. Suddenly, the door shot open and was almost broken off its hinges. Whoever had attempted to open had decided that using the handle was far too normal and quiet.

They had instead decided to go one better and tackle it. Lupin appeared behind the fallen Tonks -for it was indeed she- and flapped his arms frantically at the open-mouthed Hermione, motioning for her to move _now_.

Then followed that special kind of deafening silence; the kind which only comes before something loud or awful happens. In this case it was both. Lupin's face fell.

During the silence, Hermione knew what true peace was. Then the noise hit her like a wall: "_Mudbloods! Scum! Blood traitors! Befoulers of my ancestral home...!_"

A black blur, closely followed by a red, shot by her to do battle with the portrait.

"You didn't ring the doorbell, did you?" Ron demanded a little reproachfully when he and Harry were done. Harry intervened before the inevitable argument. "It was Tonks."

He gestured in the general direction of the innocent door which had sustained terrible injuries, and a crate of cloaks which were now all over the room." She tripped over the crate of shield cloaks."

Hermione gestured towards the stairs. "I've got news..." she said a little grimly. They made their way upstairs quickly into Buckbeak's old room and came out even quicker. "Who left those old bones and stuff in there?" Ron choked.

They turned to Ron's and Harry's room. As he heard the news, Harry grew progressively paler and his eyes widened. Hermione shook her head. 'I told Professor McGonagall he'd react this way.' she thought.

"It can't be true," he murmured weakly. "How can McGonagall receive a letter requesting a meeting from Dumbledore, if he's dead?" "She didn't say. She's bringing him over in an hour." Harry promptly fell gracefully to the ground. Ron looked over his shoulder and gasped in horror. "I think he's _dead._" "He's fainted, Ron."

* * *

Mrs Weasley was holding court in the kitchen. The rest of the Order were in the living room. Harry, Ron and Hermione were in the kitchen with Mrs Weasley, and Ron was desperately trying to taste a sauce his mother was creating.

Harry was pacing and Hermione was begging him to stop. "You're making me dizzy, Harry!" she said pleadingly. "Fingers OUT, Ron!" Mrs Weasley had noticed Ron's attempts on the sauce. "Just a little..." Hermione cast a reproachful glance at him. "At moments like this, I don't regret breaking up with you."

Ron ignored her and launched a fresh attack on the sauce which was cut short by the ringing of the doorbell. Suddenly the house was silent, and all activity was somehow suspended. Harry ceased pacing while in the process of taking a step. Mrs Weasley paused in the act of whacking Ron with a handy broom and Tonks paused in her spectacular entry to the kitchen which involved tripping over a full crate of full Butterbeer bottles.

Lupin dived for the portrait and was closely followed by Kingsley. "_Mudbloods..._" The moment passed. Harry resumed pacing. Ron howled as his mother's broom made contact and Tonks found herself lying in a pool of Butterbeer and shards of glass.

The door was opened and there were two muffled gasps. Dumbledore entered with Professor McGonagall and there was a whole roomful. "I owe you all an explanation. Especially you Harry." he said quietly.

"You must know this...I did not die the night Hogwarts was invaded. Indeed, I wasn't even there."

There was now a whole roomful of justifiably sceptical expressions. "I must start from the beginning for you to truly understand.

"A month before that night, a friend from a place called Middle Earth arrived through a portal. He had only been here once before and that was with another friend. Radagast -for that is his name- had never seen it the need to learn the runes which would tell him how to get back.

He'd believed he would never be here without Gandalf. Gandalf hadn't taught him for much the same reason. He contacted me not knowing anyone else in this world, and I not knowing how to help him return informed him of our current situation.

"When I found out about the next Horcrux, I told Radagast first."

Harry, remembering that night went a delicate shade of red, anger coursing through him. Snape. Why hadn't Dumbledore believed him...?

"He always had a sort of sixth sense about such things." Dumbledore continued softly. "Telling me that I shouldn't go in so rashly, he attempted to dissuade me. Failing on that, he insisted he should go instead.

"Eventually he wore me down, and suggested that I look in an area where we suspected another Horcrux. That night another was destroyed. Hufflepuff's cup.

When I returned to the house he was living in, no-one was there. I went to Hogwarts, not showing myself in case I was mistaken for an intruder. Then...I saw his body which no longer looked like mine." His clear blue eyes misted over.

"Why have you only come to us today, sir?" "I was destroying the remaining Horcruxes. There were only a few left. Did you wonder why Voldemort was so desperate to triumph in that last battle, even more so than in previous ones?"

Then the doorbell rang again. "I'm removing that thing..." Lupin swore viciously. "Just c'mon and shut her up..." When, once more the portrait was silenced, an old man walked in followed by an Elf, a Dwarf, and a man. They had mutinous expressions on their faces and were casting baleful looks at the old man.

"Gandalf!" Dumbledore cried. "What brings you here?" "You." Gandalf replied bluntly. "As far as I can gather your War is over. Mine isn't. And we need your help."

_Am I forgiven? Was what I did to Radagast too far? Please tell me what you think!_

_P.S. This chapter was written pre-DH. That's probably obvious._


	3. What to do?

_A.N: (12/4/09) Ehhh...*shudders* Yes, I'm overhauling the chapter. Some more minor changes may be made, but the plot shall remain the same. But the grammar will certainly be better._

_A.N: Well, big giant THANK-YOU to: Darth Demon2, dragonridergirl6, Medilia, prism sway, Swiftshadow, JuMiKu, DogLover258, feather-of-an-angel, Lily Winterwood and Kary1256_

_I AM going to use more spaces for anyone who believes I'm leading a conspiracy to make all wear glasses. We wearers of specs say: JOIN US...(Beware... I might be... MWA HA HAAAA!) _

_**Disclaimer: No, I do not own this. I am not richer than any head of any state. Although, it's more that Sirius would be alive in my world. So there, Rowling.**_

_"As far as I can gather your War is over. Mine isn't. And I'd like some help." _

Everyone turned in Gandalf's direction. They stared in some consternation at the intruders. It wasn't every day after all, a man in long white robes, followed by three mutinous looking companions suddenly came in demanding help.

_Especially _if two of the guys looked incredibly good, and the other was a bearded dwarf, in what looked like the literal sense.

Mrs Weasley had a strong urge to pinch the blonde man's cheek and say in her most motherly tone, "Let's get you fed up, dear." Harry and Ron, inexplicably, had an urge to sing, "_This is day the dwarves broke in..." _In harmony. Hermione had a really strong urge (with all the females in the room, apart from Mrs Weasley) to obsessively stare at the blonde man for all eternity.

What _happened _was not the above. Thankfully for those that had any such urges. Dumbledore started talking to Gandalf really fast in what appeared to be Latin, both safe in the knowledge no one could understand.

Hermione felt tempted to use what little Latin she knew but felt this might end up in her being sent unceremoniously from the room. She was right.

* * *

After it became clear Dumbledore and Gandalf weren't going to stop talking for an extremely long time (as is usual with old friends) the others split up. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli -after Aragon broke into a completely different language- went to the library.

Mrs Weasley went to the kitchen, presumably to fantasise about feeding people up. Harry, Ron and Hermione went to Buckbeak's room, which was the only room you could have an uninterrupted talk in. Mainly due to the stink.

When they got there, they remembered _why. _Harry was in first and dove straight back out. "It's..impossible...to _breath_…" he gagged. Hermione shoved her wand arm through the slightly opened door and muttered a spell. Ron went in. "Breathable." he announced.

Then both saw Harry stretched out on the floor. "This just isn't his day…"

When Harry woke up and found he could breath, he had to be forcibly restrained from bursting into song. Hermione wondered what exactly Harry had breathed in there. They mainly discussed what Gandalf bringing them over could entail. His world obviously had magic, as that staff was basically almost a giant wand.

"I wonder if he wants _us, _though?" Hermione mused. "I mean you've saved the wizarding world like a million times. I'm-" "You're a complete genius who just has to _look _at a spell to be able to do it…" Harry cut in, making her blush. "And I'm a sidekick." Ron said glumly. "No you're not." Harry protested. "You're…you're…" "A sidekick?" "A _really _good one!" "Still, a sidekick." "Well…"

When they were called down, along with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, Dumbledore greeted them in Latin. They all stared at him, even Gandalf. "'Good Evening.' isn't _that _excit- I spoke in Latin didn't I?" he turned to Gandalf. "Yes, but anyway." "Well, I've agreed to go to Middle Earth and lend my help, are you three interested?" he asked. "Yeah, course!" Harry said. He was sure he heard Ron mutter 'sidekick' though.

"I just need to go to Middle Earth and pick up a few things and we'll be gone. Get a good nights sleep, pack, and then it's Hogwarts and Middle Earth!"

As they were leaving, Ron muttered, "I hope he doesn't say "Toodle pip!" Or whatever he said in school one year…"

"Toodle pip!" Dumbledore said cheerfully as they left. Ron looked wildly around. "Did he hear me?"

_You knew that was coming, didn't you? The 'toodle-pip' thing? I'm really sorry about the delay! I've been snowed under with my Standard grade homework, and Writer's Block. A REALLY bad case._


	4. A Whole New World

_A.N: Yes, this chapter is also being edited. Same date as the past few. Again, plot suffers no change, the text shall. It's mainly technical though._

_A.N: I'm sorry about the delay in putting up this new chapter! Also, I know some of you thought there was way too much dialogue in the previous chapters, and I'm hopeful that I've sorted it out. The reason they are going is revealed, and while it may sound pathetic to some, I promise you it isn't!_

**BFME: A Whole New World**

Hermione, Harry, Ron and Ginny were in the Black library. Hermione was reading a book gifted to her by Dumbledore. It was also written _by_ Dumbledore himself who'd experienced Middle Earth before this trip. It was all about helping wizards from their world with survival in Middle Earth.

Harry and Ginny were attempting to be interested in the books that they'd pulled from the shelves without looking - very unwise. Ron was genuinely interested in his choice, having taken time to look at the title.

Harry had picked up 'Muggle Hunting- A Justification.' and Ginny had picked up 'Potions- The Essential Recipes of This Century.' She wasn't entirely sure _which _century the recipes were from.

"I just wish I knew why we were needed over there!" Hermione hissed in frustration, slamming shut the book. No one paid attention to this outburst. It was identical to the four others she'd had since they'd arrived half an hour ago.

She scowled around at the others, annoyed at the lack of the interest they were showing. Well, lack of interest in _her_ at least. They looked interested in their _books_.

"Harry," Hermione began, smiling grimly. "How is the author trying to justify Muggle hunting?" "Eh…" he replied intelligently, groaning inwardly. He'd seen the title, and then had just gone on to auto-pilot, turning a page every few seconds.

Hermione tutted impatiently, gave him an '_I'll deal with you later' _look she must've got from Mrs Weasley and turned to Ginny. She bypassed Ron, it being clear to anyone he was (and had been) absorbed in his book- 'Quidditch. The Keepers of Legend.'

Ginny looked up, trying not to look too scared. "Do you even remember what you were 'reading'?" Hermione sighed. "No…" Ginny mumbled, deciding honesty was the best policy. "At least you didn't lie." Hermione muttered, casting a baleful glare at Harry.

There was a light rapping at the door. "Come in!" Harry yelled, glad someone would be able to deflect Hermione's attention away from him and Ginny seeing as she clearly wasn't finished. Ron continued reading, totally oblivious.

"Thanks." Legolas said, flashing a dazzling grin at the current occupants. Ginny and Hermione swooned.

Aragon looked amused at this; Gimli assumed the look of one thinking of some crude jokes and Legolas merely looked deeply embarrassed.

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"So…" Hermione began a few minutes later after the three were seated with them at their table. "Do you lot know why we're needed?"

Aragon glanced at Legolas who still looked painfully embarrassed and unable to speak, and then Gimli who was still thinking hard.

"Hasn't Dumbledore told you? You should have known what you were getting yourselves into." he replied, frowning. This sounded extremely ominous to Hermione.

Harry and Ginny glanced at Aragon, also picking up on the tone. "No. We don't know anything. Except the name of your land." Hermione said, steeling herself.

"A couple of your people have escaped into our world." Aragon began. Harry and Ginny exchanged looks; this didn't sound _too _bad. Hermione frowned at them both. "Our magic is foreign to your land. It could have an adverse effect on your people."

Aragon looked surprised at this statement; he was surprised at its accuracy. "They can teach certain people how to do magic, but some go mad when exposed, the rest become utterly evil. Our people don't seem equipped to handle this magic. Like them. Those who can't are of course disposed of. Anyway, that in itself isn't the main problem. They managed to get to Sauron."

A shadow seemed to pass over his eyes. "He's our Voldemort." he explained for the benefit of his listeners who looked confused. "Well, now there are rumours of ambushing Isengard and freeing Saruman, who is a wizard like Gandalf . The Ents, who are a massive tree people, don't think they'll be much trouble but…" The way his voice trailed away left everyone in no doubt as to his thoughts on the matter.

Silence fell. It wasn't awkward; everyone was thinking about Aragorn's speech. (Except of course Ron who was reading and Gimli who was working on a great joke even if the moment _had _passed ten minutes ago.)

"_And_ we're leaving today." Hermione said, breaking the silence. The door to the library creaked open, and Kreacher entered. "Dinner is in the kitchen, master." he said, addressing Harry.

Harry nodded distractedly. "Thanks, Kreacher." Kreacher didn't leave. He cleared his throat and whispered conspiratorially: "Mrs Weasley whispered something just after I left, sir: 'They'd better come, or I'll go down and chuck it over them…'"

He left then. Everyone burst into laughter. "I'd rather eat it than get covered in it." Ginny grinned, leading the way out of the library.

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Mrs Weasley did indeed were a satisfied look as the group entered the kitchen. "Dumbledore would like you in the living room after you've eaten." she told them.

Harry looked at his watch. It was just about half-four. They ate in silence, Mrs Weasley watching over them. Legolas showed signs of not finishing his serving completely, but did so after Harry and Ron made frantic hand signals to him.

These involved forking imaginary food into their mouths, making the letters 'O' & 'R' with their fingers, pointing at Mrs Weasley and then finally drawing a finger across their throats. They managed to do this in total harmony.

Mrs Weasley watched this impassively, secretly thinking this was the stress of finding Horcruxes finally manifesting itself as madness.

"Oh, good. Come, sit down." Dumbledore said as they entered. Gandalf was on the couch next to him. "We know why we're going now." Hermione told Dumbledore with a hint of reproach in her voice.

A frown appeared on Dumbledore's face immediately. "You mean I didn't tell you?" he asked. "No." Hermione replied. It was almost as though Dumbledore thought… "I thought I'd told you!" Dumbledore exclaimed.

Ron and Harry glanced over at Hermione in expectation. They weren't disappointed; she was about to have a stroke with the stress of resisting rolling her eyes.

"Well, anyway." Dumbledore said with his cheeks tainted a delicate shade of pink. "As you know we're heading for Middle Earth today. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny pack now. Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli I believe Gandalf has items necessary for preparation for re-entry."

The latter three fixed him with blank stares while the former exited. "Weapons." Dumbledore sighed, he didn't bothering to resist rolling his eyes. Legolas, Gimli and Aragorn looked delighted at the word 'weapons'. "I will get my staff." Dumbledore said, as he too left the room.

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"Sauron is their Voldemort." Ron stated in his and Harry's room, where he and the rest had grouped after packing (excepting Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli).

"But," he added, "I heard Gimli talking about him being a giant eye." Everyone immediately attempted to picture having a giant eye as an arch-nemesis.

"You'd have to be pretty evil to make up for being an eye." Harry said finally. "I have no doubt that he is." Sirius said as he poked his head around the door. "But you'll have to deal with that later seeing as it's time to go."

Harry was deliberately the last to pass his godfather and was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. "Be careful." Sirius said, pulling him into a tight hug. Harry looked into Sirius's eyes and wished saying, "Don't worry." would help. He could feel Sirius's gaze on him all the way down the stairs.

"Side-Along Apparation." Dumbledore whispered as they crept along the corridor to the door. Ron frowned; he'd had some problems with apparation. It would just be worse with a passenger, wouldn't it?

"Don't worry. It isn't any different from doing it without passengers." Dumbledore said displaying his mind-reading like ability, and now speaking normally as they were outside.

"We're bypassing the visit to Hogwarts, I've sent an owl to Professor McGonagall. Goodness only knows how the students will take the news. And then there are the parents…"

Hermione guessed (correctly) he was referring to his turning out to be alive.

He stopped completely, lost in thought. "Err…sir." Ginny began hesitantly. "Where are we heading?" "Oh yes. Hogsmeade. Take a partner." he said as he offered an arm to Gandalf.

Ginny and Hermione attempted to have a staring contest right there in the middle of the street to see who would get to take Legolas.

Ron interrupted this by pushing Ginny at Gimli. (He had fought an internal battle within his mind over whom to push: his little sister, or his ex?).

"OK." Dumbledore said, and immediately five people turned on their heel simultaneously. Four had their style cramped by the uncooperative person on their arm who _didn't _turn. A Muggle who rounded the corner seconds after looked all around for the source of the four rather loud (simultaneous) curses.

It was seven o' clock when everyone was standing in Hogsmeade. "I thought we were all going to arrive together." Harry said, disappointed. (He hadn't had a partner).

"You weren't hindered." Ron said, throwing a malevolent glance at Gimli who had partnered him. Gimli responded by staring at his kneecaps.

"That doesn't matter." Dumbledore said, raising his voice. "We're all here now. Follow me and Gandalf to the gate."

The walk to the gate was made in silence. It was slightly off the path to Hogsmeade and obviously was concealed. Aragorn caught Gandalf's eye as Dumbledore prepared to raise his staff. Gandalf nodded.

"Cover your eyes." Aragorn said to the others. Dumbledore uttered the incantation, everyone was aware of a flash and then the gate was before them.

Ginny, Harry, Hermione and Ron looked at the undulating sheet of blue in awe. Legolas, Aragon and Gimli lined up and stepped through one by one. Ron looked strangely relieved as Gimli was absorbed into the gate.

"Go on then." Dumbledore told the remaining group. Harry and Hermione went through together and so did Ron and Ginny.

"Do you think it'll be safe to close it in Middle Earth?" Dumbledore asked. "I'll do a concealing spell before I pass through." Gandalf offered. Dumbledore nodded in agreement and stepped through.


	5. Those That Speak, Burn

_A.N: Yes, I'm back. I plan to introduce two new characters here that I've mentioned; Elegost and Hadhod of 'The Third Age' fame. That game was set parallel to events in LOTR, so there shouldn't be a problem...mind you this is wildly AU, so...never mind. I ought to be back soon with another update; sooner than with this anyway!Oh, and I've summarised the events in the game but don't call me on that-been a while. I've made sure things fit, but tell me of a mistake and I will both get back to you and fix it._

BFME: Those Who Speak, Burn

Night lay over the plains of Rohan. They were all but deserted except for the few villages dotted across them, a lone ranger and his companion, a dwarf.

The two had made camp for the night and a fire burned brightly with the two sprawled nearby. One asleep, the other awake.

The ranger (Elegost) was only visible due to the light of the fire. If it had not been present he would have been invisible even though the full moon was bright.

By contrast the sleeping dwarf (Hadhod) would have attracted enemies like flies to honey, and would have been happy to do so. He had copious amounts of metal on his person.

Elegost found sleep harder to come by than Hadhod. The two friends were on the plains because, for whatever reason groups of orcs were travelling across more and more frequently. The two were attempting to clear them out.

They had previously been part of a large group which was now disbanded. It had begun with an elf -Idrial- and a man -Berethor- who had met Elegost while he was hunting Wargs.

He had also been searching for his lost friend Hadhod. The dwarf had been found, and then they had travelled through Moria, closely following the Fellowship. There, Idrial had helped out Gandalf with a Balrog, saving him from a chasm.

They had then travelled some way with the Fellowship. Elegost had left to scourge the plains; the group had travelled to Lorien. They'd then travelled to Amon Hen where there had been trouble between Boromir and Frodo. He and Sam had run away.

Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Idrial, Berethor and Hadhod had separated into two groups and had vainly searched vainly for them and had then heard Boromir's horn call. Aragorn's group had arrived to find hundreds of orcs dead and Idrial, Boromir, Hadhod and Berethor calmly cleaning their weapons.

Gandalf, Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli had then gone to another world. Berethor and Idrial had gone to Osgiliath, but Hadhod had wished to join his friend so they'd dropped him off at Elegost's camp. Elegost had deeply regretted his decision to leave after hearing of the events that had taken place in his absence.

They had been here now for at least a week and had little idea of any events that had taken place outside of the plains. They didn't know if Gandalf had returned and how Middle Earth had fared against its many problems.

Elegost stood up, deciding sleep wasn't going to come, and gazed out across the wide expanse of land that lay before them. His eyes fixed on a lone village situated out there, for some reason.

He gazed at it for some time, then suddenly cried aloud in surprise. Hadhod jerked awake and cursed various things, starting and ending with Elegost. "What is it?" he grumbled as he got to his feet wearily.

Elegost squinted and mutely pointed a shaking figure at the village. What Elegost had seen had shocked him severely. As he'd gazed at the village, a thin jet of orange light had appeared -seemingly out of nowhere- at the furthest end of the village, and now it was on fire. This could only be the work of those magicians.

"Should we go down there?" Hadhod asked his friend, only seeing a perfectly normal fire. He couldn't see how a fire had frightened his friend so, but he did know that rangers didn't scare easily.

Elegost nodded briefly, swinging onto his horse. The occasion demanded speed, and that meant riding bareback, as the horse wasn't saddled up.

Hadhod, who disliked riding at the best of times was even more reluctant to do so without a saddle. Yet he had to come and to even suggest that he could walk would be ridiculous. But he still wouldn't get up.

Elegost was in a mood which allowed no argument, and Hadhod found himself hauled up behind Elegost as there was no other horse, and like most dwarves he couldn't ride anyway.

He soon wished that he'd had the guts to refuse Elegost. Elegost pushed the horse beyond its limits. The journey for Hadhod was unbearably long, and also a complete blur.

But eventually he felt the heat of flames on the little skin that was actually exposed. He dismounted by gracefully tumbling sideways to the ground.

In the few seconds that it took to recover his senses, Elegost had entered into combat with three of the four attackers: three orcs and one hooded and cloaked man who stood a little away from the battle and who could only be the wizard.

Hadhod got to his feet silently and assessed the situation. Elegost was fighting all of the orcs at once but there was of course only three. He'd fought greater numbers in his time.

Hadhod could see that he'd be much more helpful if he didn't jump in to help Elegost with the orcs…

The wizard's eyes were locked on the battle. This meant he didn't learn of Hadhod's presence until a stout boot connected with the back of his leg. His hands went straight to the area in question. It was a relatively easy job for Hadhod to bring him down, and he did so quickly.

Elegost had by now finished off two out of three orcs. Hadhod administered a sharp blow to the head of his captive with the haft of his axe as he struggled to escape and he slipped into unconsciousness.

The little scene had taken place at the edge of the village and the fire had started at the opposite end, but the houses at the outskirts had now started to burn.

The dwarf dragged his hostage away from the houses to prevent them getting toasted. Elegost finished off his last enemy then he helped the dwarf -and captive- onto the horse.

Back at their camp Elegost searched his things for rope, and finding some tied the unconscious wizard's hands behind his back.

They then proceeded to search the man and found under the cloak that his uniform bore the white hand- Saruman's insignia. It also yielded a dagger of poor quality and a long, thin stick of mahogany. Elegost twirled it between his fingers, before dropping it into his bags.

Presently the man began to stir. He woke to find the blade of an axe centimetres on his throat. "You aren't native to Middle Earth, are you?" Elegost asked him.

"No." he replied shakily. "How did you get here? What's your business? How many of your group are there? Why did you burn that village?" Elegost demanded sharply, rubbing his eyes. Dawn was breaking and he hadn't yet slept.

"People from my world found a gate. They brought through many and trained many. There's now several hundred. We didn't target the village for any particular reason. " the wizard said in a rush.

Hadhod and Elegost started; this sounded familiar. "I and my company were heading to Osgiliath." he continued, unaware of just what that statement meant to his captors.

"What were you going to do there?" Elegost asked in a calm, controlled voice which frightened the man more effectively than the razor-sharp axe blade.

"We were going to intercept the wizard Gandalf, and his company…" the man said, his voice barely above a whisper. Colour was draining rapidly from his skin, and Hadhod was sure now that it wasn't just down to fear.

"There's more of…" he struggled to say. Elegost prepared to see if he could get the man to expand on this, but then a flame flickered into life at his throat. The man shrieked in pain and fear, Elegost and Hadhod exclaimed in disgust and averted their eyes and covered their ears.

Soon it was all over. Oddly the fire had not affected the surrounding area at all. There was only ashes to indicate something that had occurred, and soon they too were gone.

Elegost turned shakily to Hadhod and said, "We've got to get to Osgiliath. Gandalf's got to know of this." Hadhod nodded, and they began to rapidly pack up and then remove all signs of the camp. Soon they were on their way to Osgiliath.


	6. Fog: A Ranger's Bane

**AN: Sorry about any formatting issues. Fanfiction can be a pain. We're still with Elegost and Hadhod for the moment, but don't worry- the Golden Three will catch their first glimpse of Middle Earth soon**. **The chapter title doesn't have any true significance, by the way, it's just my little joke. Any suggestions for forthcoming events will be welcome. I'm at the stage where I'm happy to accept or advice, or even just a plea to change something. Enjoy.**

_Fog, Bane of the Ranger_

It took several days to reach Osgiliath and the moon was high in the sky when they finally reached the outskirts. The horse halted there and would go no further.

A sentiment Hadhod both agreed with and was grateful for, as it meant he could finally get off. With a relieved sigh, he simply rolled sideways off the saddle, his muscles too cramped to do anything more strenuous.

Elegost's lips twitched -the hatred his friend held for horses surpassed that of most dwarves- and he dismounted lightly.

After allowing a few minutes recovery time, Elegost knelt down beside Hadhod. "C'mon," he said softly, risking a light nudge with the tips of his fingers.

Hadhod grunted something unintelligible and then hauled himself up, looking very much like he was suffering injuries infinitely more agonising than cramp.

Elegost couldn't suppress a chuckle as he straightened up and turned to the mist-wreathed city. He repressed a shudder as he gazed at it, barely noticing as Hadhod finally came to stand beside him.

"Elegost." he prompted his friend, raising an eyebrow when Elegost jumped slightly. "Oh. Yes." he muttered, starting forward quickly, a look of unease still on his features.

Hadhod followed and both closed their eyes when walking into the city as the mists parted to receive them, and then closed behind them. It was much more like a fog.

They proceeded at a slow pace, unsure where to begin looking. "This is impossible." Elegost muttered, irritably waving a hand pointlessly in front of his face.

Hadhod opened his mouth, and then suddenly froze. "Did you hear that?" he murmured, cocking his head. Elegost nodded sharply and also attempted to squint his way through the blank whiteness to the source of the scrabbling, scraping noises.

"We have to split up." Elegost hissed to Hadhod. Hadhod nodded in reply and gripping his axe, stalked onwards.

Elegost struck out west and quickly began to curse fog and everything related to it. As if in answer to his unspoken prayers, there was a gust of wind blew abruptly, clearing the fog.

This revealed the orc archer positioned on the "building" directly ahead. This construction could only be called a building if two walls and half a roof were acceptable. It was however undeniably a miracle.

He breathed a curse and taking out his bow, swiftly sent an arrow speeding up. The fall was muffled by the now returned fog.

A muffled grunt rang out as he cautiously approached the orc, and he hurdled it, nearly running into Hadhod and the two orcs he was fighting.

Elegost swiftly taught one the dangers of not being aware of one's environment, a lesson that was sadly destined to go unappreciated.

He waited while the second was dispatched. "Thank-you." Hadhod said, looking up. "But now, we have to continue our search. This city is _too _big." "It isn't the size of this place that's the problem." Elegost muttered as they separated once more.

It was some time before they both managed to wander into the same part of the city again. "I've checked here before." Elegost had muttered in slightly despairing tones; Hadhod had only just managed to grab the edge of his cloak as he had staggered out.

He groped his way into a badly suffering husk of a building, Hadhod still hanging grimly on. Once inside, they sat down on what had formerly been part of the long-gone second floor.

"We're getting nowhere like this." Elegost said despondently, thinking that something needed to be said even if it was painfully obvious.

A rustle told him that Hadhod had turned to face him, and despite the fog, Elegost could feel the force of the look he was receiving.

Flashes of bright light began to come periodically from outside. At first, Elegost didn't play much attention to them. His fatigue was almost complete, and so he put it down to his desperation for _something _to happen.

However, when the much-loathed fog began to drain out of the husk, Elegost and Hadhod ran out. They had to bless the person responsible.

The sight that actually greeted them was a rather disturbing one. In front of two orcs -not even Uruk-hai- were Idrial and Berethor, bound and generally incapacitated.

The shock this caused gave rise to a very important pause. The importance lay in their not throwing themselves directly into the fight.

As a result, they had time to pick up on the frantic signals Idrial was giving, by means of widening her eyes. Somehow this width managed to convey: _stop!_

They did so, and stared fixedly at the orcs' backs, considering the many unusual occurrences here: the now gone, very unnatural fog; the capture of Berethor and Idrial by two orcs- either one of them should have dealt with both single-handedly and quickly and of course the complete obliviousness of the orcs to their presence.

Elegost took a few quick steps back and produced his sword. Hadhod did the same, producing his axe.

Idrial's eyes were following them and she gave an almost imperceptible nod in response to Elegost's raised eyebrow. As one, Elegost and Hadhod silently swung at the orcs who promptly buckled, collapsed and breathed no more.

Elegost was silently astounded. He'd expected slightly more resistance. A few moments passed in silence as the four stared at the bodies.

"Elegost, could you free us?" Idrial asked then, after seeing no movements. He nodded and cut their bonds while still eyeing the orcs. Hadhod poked them suspiciously with the haft of his axe.

"Thank-you." Berethor said, his relief audible, as he stood up. "How long have you been tied up? We've been here a few-" "A few hours: we did hear someone stumbling past once or twice. Then you suddenly just walked right _past_."

Idrial interrupted wearily. "I managed to drain the fog so you could get…them, and free us. What are you doing here anyway?"

"We're here to talk with Gandalf." Hadhod said, looking up from his inspection. "What's going on?" he added with a gesture to his subjects.

Berethor and Idrial fell into a silence, both deep in thought. Berethor shrugged. "We were just searching the place, and found them. They overcame us even though they only appear to be scouts. Frankly, I'm astounded you killed them."

Idrial nodded in agreement. "Why do you want Gandalf?" she asked, turning to Elegost. "Until today, I would have said it was the strangest thing to happen to me." he answered frowning. He sat down on a piece of roof, willed the memories into order and began to recount the night on the plains.


	7. It's Like Magic

_A.N: This isn't technically relevant: but when it comes to formatting, I hate FF. Sorry about the slight delay; I started several drafts and it took a while to get 'em all together. Finally, in this chapter Harry and co. will arrive in Middle Earth. However, they aren't going to receive the best of first impressions...enjoy. And please, review._

As dawn finally broke, silence fell across the recently established camp- no more than some blocks to sit on, set around a fire.

The arrival of dawn heralded the end of Elegost's tale, which to him seemed much less sinister. Idrial didn't appear to agree. She wore an expression of deeply disgusted shock.

He idly considered nothing in particular and tried to compare the two experiences in terms of weirdness.

In his opinion, the much-loathed fog weighted things in honour of the now previous day. "It's Saruman." Berethor said definitely, feeling that this ought to be announced. Everyone murmured agreement, except for Elegost who nodded in a distracted way.

"We need to find a way to contact Gandalf." he muttered broodingly. He couldn't see Gandalf being here; their search had been extensive, even taking the fog into account.

Idrial started at his words and stood abruptly, cursing under her breath. She walked to two nearby pillars that were a metre apart, laid her hands on one and began to chant.

Elegost and Hadhod watched with mild amusement; Berethor with increasing apprehension that was gradually evolving into fear. A light began to grow. Suddenly she leapt backwards, covering her eyes and shouting to the others to do the same.

Elegost was vaguely aware of a very bright flash of light. He opened his eyes and saw that now there was a thin blue membrane stretching between the pillars, which had silver runes sliding over them.

He glanced over at Idrial and was rather amused to see her eyeing the gate somewhat ruefully. Sighing heavily, she walked over to her block and sat down.

Berethor's head suddenly snapped up. Hadhod frowned at him; he'd been deep in thought two seconds ago. "What is it?" he asked. "Er…can anyone else hear _scuffling_?"

Harry refused to continue after the sixth time. He was utterly fed up with the whole wretched thing, and if the Boy Who Lived (And Lived Again) was good enough to be fired out of a gate backwards by a seemingly sentient (and _angry_) gate then so was everyone else. _Especially _everyone else.

It had all began when they'd all been unceremoniously _chucked _from the gate into each other, or for the lucky person who'd went in last, onto the ground to break everyone else's fall.

So, they'd needed someone to see if the gate had opened in response to spells Dumbledore and Gandalf were casting. Harry had been the only one stupid/brave enough to volunteer.

He lay where he was, reflecting bitterly that he _must _have a hero complex. What else could have possessed him to volunteer to enter it again?

Shouldn't he, just once, have listened to that little voice desperately howling _that this wasn't right_?!

Shouldn't he have asked whether the stupid thing was _supposed _to be spitting red sparks after that one spell?

He glared up at the group, daring anyone to suggest he try an Encushioning charm in the two seconds he had before he hit the ground. Backwards.

"I'll do it." Legolas offered, sympathising with Harry to a degree no-one yet had. He was just in time to prevent Harry snapping and cursing the entire group into the next dimension.

Hermione and Ginny gasped at his words and everyone squirmed guiltily in the face of Legolas' magnanimity and Harry's pain.

He walked over to the gate, everyone took in a breath in a suitably slow manner, and Harry gloomily made a prediction. Legolas stepped forward, and promptly disappeared. Even Hermione and Ginny could only feel sympathy for their beleaguered friend.

As Aragorn prepared to re-enter his homeland, safe in the knowledge that he would _not _be getting fired anywhere, Ron suddenly noted something that had escaped the notice of reputedly sharper members of the group.

"We've forgotten all of our luggage." he said loudly, halting Aragorn in mid-stride. "(_Bleep_)." he said with feeling as he went down. He picked himself up to several raised eyebrows. "Shut up." he muttered, showing that he had at least paid some attention during his stay.

With some resignation, Hermione and Ginny turned to Aragorn and Gimli and proffered their arms. With some resignation, the two accepted. This time, the apparation went without a hitch.

Ron was about to follow when Gandalf held up a hand. "I think your friend might require some help." he said quietly. Harry, as a result of a serious stress overload, had fainted.

The others returned very soon, so much so that they received suspicious looks that only lessened somewhat at the sight of the luggage. There were more bags than before. Harry sat up woozily, and eyed everyone about him balefully. Ron helped him up.

Hermione with what looked suspiciously like a frown on her face explained. "Mrs Weasley was there when we got in. She…er…noticed that we'd left without our things, and noted that we'd overlooked some things."

Ron and Harry walked over to help with the stuff, and in a few minutes they were walking through the gate.

Gandalf and Dumbledore exchanged looks, and Dumbledore walked through, ahead of Gandalf who was raising his staff. Gandalf muttered a quick spell and the gate promptly disappeared from view. With a shake of his head, so did the wizard.

Elegost couldn't help shaking. He was a ranger, but even rangers were allowed to be scared out of their wits every now and then.

The reason Elegost was scared out of his wits was this: his search may have been extensive, but it hadn't been complete. So he hadn't found the two orcs that had been creeping about the city. But happily they'd solved that problem by finding _him_.

So now he and his friends were standing backs to the gate, and sweating profusely. Well, Idrial wasn't, but elves were always so damn calm.

Behind them, the gate began to…fizz. Elegost let out a muted curse as a spark landed on his back, and his jerkin proved the rule that fire plus leather= bad. He slapped at it.

Someone walked into his back and this time he didn't bother muffling the curse. Neither did they. Idrial watched the orcs impassively. They didn't move.

Legolas found himself in Elegost's grip before he could get any kind of a grip on reality and his place in it. He sighed.

"They're only orcs!" he hissed to the nervy ranger, somehow picking up on the fact that this wasn't a time to speak normally. "No, they're only apparently _invincible _orcs." Elegost hissed loosening his grip.

Legolas didn't move a muscle. "What?!" "That's right. Unless, of course, you manage to sneak up on them. Then, they rather kindly die."

"Right. Then that means we're doomed." Legolas said gloomily. Elegost nodded. "It's alright when you get used to the idea."

Behind them the gate fizzed again. It was rather like the Triwizard cup, if you exchanged charred bits of paper for humans/wizards/dwarves.

Ron fell into Berethor's back. Berethor took this rather well, until the case thudded into his back. He managed to hold his curse in, turning a rather nasty shade of something. It was nasty, as well as indescribable.

Ron didn't curse. He crumpled. "How many more are there?" Elegost asked weakly as they all turned to look at the unfortunate Ron. "Too many." Legolas replied. "I think our doom is rather nearer than we expected."

He looked at the orcs apprehensively then suspiciously. Astoundingly, the vile things were still facing them, stock still, weapons in hand. Elegost noted the direction of his gaze. "Oh, they'll stay like that until we get too near, or attack."

The next ten minutes were a sore trial for those present. Everyone tripped over Ron, everyone got luggage in their backs, and only a select few managed to hold their tongues.

When everyone was finally there, they got themselves arranged. They lined up in front of the gate, moved Ron back as near to the gate as they dared, pushed the luggage into a pile and moved that back against Ron.

Throughout all this, the orcs remained utterly inanimate. They'd been so silent that those who hadn't witnessed them in action were arguing fiercely with those that had, and wanted very much to move.

The orcs put an end to this discussion. It was Hermione who first noticed. "They're moving!" she shrieked, pushing though to the front of the line.

The orcs were approaching them, producing very sharp scimitars that everyone was sure were, so to speak, much more than scimitars.

In desperation, against all that she'd been told, Hermione shouted, "_Incendio!_" In defiance of all that Hermione had been told, Hermione's wand issued a thin stream of flame that hit one of the orcs in the chest, proving the rule that fire plus leather= bad. It burst into flame, and owing to the amount of leather on its person the orc collapsed into a pile of ash seconds later.

Harry quickly repeated the process with the second orc and then everyone quickly staggered to the blocks of stone. There were just enough for everyone to collapse gratefully onto.

_I feel rather sorry for Harry, but hey, maybe he'll realise that you should think before you leap. I rather hope that anyone who didn't like the Ron bashing feels slightly better now.I remember someone protested that Ron was actually a great commander, thank you very much, and they're right! Go Ron.  
_


	8. Troll!

_A.N: I'm very sorry that this chapter took so long to get up, but my exams are upon me and my time is not my own. No matter how hard I try. However, I managed to get this written and the exams will soon be over so I'll be writing more again soon. I'm also planning a Marauders Era fic- what do you guys think?_

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Night had fallen before Ron began to stir. He sat up groggily, eyelids fluttering, trying to survey his surroundings. Around him were grouped crumbling ruins, gently glowing in the dim night light. He groaned and put his head in his hands- he was so…_confused._

His last memory was of the grassy area and the gate. The gate was here, but for some reason the grass was not. Instead, there was stone. Lots of crumbling, luminous stone. Since grass wasn't well known for mutating into stone, this probably meant that he was in Middle Earth. He raised his head and gazed around critically. It wasn't terribly impressive.

Across the courtyard he was in, one of the largest buildings was missing its entire front. Within, he could see a green pinprick of light that was usually the product of a _Lumos _spell. But it _couldn't _be…

Hermione had said spells would be impossible. Which admittedly hadn't stopped them bringing their supposedly useless wands, but it hadn't been to _use _them. He eyed it suspiciously, wondering if it _was _a spell- if this was Middle Earth, and he was sure it was, then it could be _anything. _

He shivered involuntarily. As he watched, the light shifted to face him. He tensed. "Ron?" It was Harry. "Yeah!" "Come here." Ron obliged Harry's request and made his way across the courtyard.

In a few minutes, his friend came into view, perched on what might once have been part of the shell he was in. His expression was one of utter boredom, with some relief slowly dawning. His wand -light blooming impossibly at the tip- was held loosely in his fingers.

"Sit down." he said to Ron, gesturing lazily at another block, part of a ragged circle arranged around a pile of gently smoking ashes. Ron did so, and narrowed his eyes at the wand. "_How _is that possible?" he demanded, gesturing at the offending object.

Harry was silent for a moment. "If I told you what they told me," he began slowly, "you wouldn't understand. Basically, those wizards managed to break this…_barrier_ that stopped our magic working, with that Saruman."

"Evil Gandalf." Ron said thoughtfully, pulling out his own wand. "What are you doing?" he asked suddenly. "Watching." Harry replied hollowly. "For what?" "…._Things _that may want to attack us." Harry said, feeling that to say _orc_ would be a bad move right now.

Ron lapsed into silence, wondering exactly what these '_things_' could be. Harry also fell into silence; he was remembering the argument that had led to him taking first watch. Sure, he _had _been unconscious for quite a long time, but had they already forgotten _why_? They had, as it turned out. He turned to Ron to have a good moan and hissed in frustration when he saw that Ron had fallen _asleep._

"Ten hours!" he spat, resisting the urge to kick his friend. He sighed heavily. He was developing anger issues again; he was beginning to regret coming. He twisted around to face the sleeping group, twirling his wand like a conductor's baton.

If the group had been awake to see his expression, they would seriously have considered running. Fortunately, Harry took a deep calming breath and finally decided to amuse himself by changing the colours of Legolas' hair.

He spent several happy minutes cycling through all the colours he could think of, deciding that Legolas definitely suited greenish-purple colour best. He idly wondered after thinking that whether the sleep deprivation had gotten to him.

As he regretfully restored Legolas' hair to normal, knowing that the elf angry didn't bear thinking about, a sudden _thump _sent juddering vibrations through the ground, and a snoring Ron flopped to onto it.

Another _thump _came, and this time Harry's head snapped up. It was _nearer. _He bit his lip and glanced at his still sleeping companions. He needed them awake, and needed them awake quickly. He knew a way to achieve this immediately. It would however, attract the attention of everyone -including the creature's- around.

Another _thump _shook the ground, and Harry's arm made the decision itself. A loud _bang _sounded, and the group suddenly woke up. Confused shouts followed. But they were promptly silenced by the sudden, unbearably _loud _inhuman screech that the creature gave in protest. All turned pale at the sound, but the Middle-Earthians nearly fainted. "_Troll." _Elegost gasped.

They arranged themselves as strategically as they could- they formed a circle, swordspeople and elderly wizards on the inside, wand-users and archers on the outside. Ron had done his best to get Ginny on the inside, and there had very nearly been one less wand-user. They stood watching carefully. Aragorn rounded on the visitors. "What do you know of trolls?" he asked. Ginny shook her head honestly, knowing full well that her DADA classes didn't really count.

"They're smelly." Harry offered, wrinkling his nose. "_Massive." _Hermione whispered, eyes wide. She'd never really completely recovered from the experience in first year. "You can bring them down with a club." Ron added helpfully. Everyone stared at him.

"It's a long story." Harry said weakly, noticing Aragorn's stunned eyes on him. This satisfied the others for now, and they returned to gazing out of the breach in the building. The _thumps _occasionally came closer and occasionally faded, but the group knew it was only a matter of time. They were right. The troll decided to make its entrance just then.

Harry, observing it dispassionately, noted that there were some differences between trolls from his world and this one. This troll, for example, had a head that looked as though it did actually belong on the creature. It was smaller too, and had a flatter face. This one won on looks, he concluded.

But they both seemed to share the odd penchant for clubs, they both _stank_ and they both appeared to have the same hatred for anything that was not a troll. It roared at them. They gagged. Ginny, her eyes not on the troll, suddenly jabbed Hermione. "I can hear scuffling!" she hissed. Berethor looked at her with interest. "We've been hearing a lot of that lately." he said thoughtfully.

Idrial quickly explained to Aragorn what was happening and her plan. She, Berethor, Hermione and Ginny were going to see what was responsible for the scuffling. Aragorn, eyes on the angry and confused troll, agreed. He wasn't sure what, but he agreed with it anyway.

Half the group then disappeared out of a door located on the far side of the ruin, and the other half now saw that the troll wasn't confused anymore. It was completely angry, saw the group as the source of the anger and rather sensibly had decided to remove the causes of its pain.

* * *

_Cliffhanger! Kind of. Well, I hope you found that at least a little funny, and maybe just a little bit exciting? I'm enjoying writing this again- hope you guys enjoy reading it. Tell me what you think! I'm always happy to hear it._


	9. To Make a Move

_A.N: Argh! I'm so, so sorry that it's taken so long. Writer's block and a new project have halted my progress with this. Damn. Luckily I now have ideas, so things definitely shouldn't be so bad. Lots of thanks to all readers and reviewers of this story!

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_

There were times, Harry knew. when time seemed to slow to the point it almost stopped. This wasn't one of those times though it wasn't through lack of wishing. The troll was advancing at a slow -but terrifying- pace. It moved as fast as thick cement, but one of its strides matched three of a human's.

And no one could do anything about it. The width of the ruin was such that anyone who made an attempt on it would die a valiant -but pointless- martyr's death. It was for that reason that the remaining group was being forced to take many, increasingly reluctant steps back every time it took one. Reluctant, because being sent to the next life by a glorified piece of wood was a fairly ignominious way to go for anyone.

Harry, as he stepped back, realised he had been in a situation like this before. _'Tournament? No, that was dragons...Chamber? Nope. Basilisk. First year? Troll!'_ Desperately he suddenly stopped retreating and stuck out his wand. This action prevented his plan coming to a premature end.

The troll had never seen anyone with a wand before. It had never actually come against someone stupid enough to willingly stand still in front of it. It paused and regarded him thoughtfully. Harry's shout of "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" shattered its trance, but when it made to swing at him, its paw missed by a metre.

It barely had time to register something was missing before the club found it again by knocking it out cold. Aragon staggered forward and knelt beside it to search for a pulse. In the several trolls he'd ever searched, he had never yet found one. But his reasoning was that if the troll lay still long enough for him to look, it wasn't getting up any time soon.

Harry, meanwhile, had noticed something. "Where's Ginny?" he demanded, causing Ron to do a passable imitation of a bloodhound which had just caught a scent. "Her-hermione and Idrial aren't here either." Elegost remarked, glance sweeping the room. Harry started guiltily.

Ron was stalking off in a completely random direction when a loud stream of -non magical- curses and a shriek of "_Protego!" _alerted them to the correct one. Ron bolted out of the building, and the others followed quickly.

* * *

Ginny, Hermione and Idrial had found the source of the 'scuffling' in an even more dilapidated ruin. It was really just a glorified wall. Ginny was the one who had cursed, and she had done so because she was trapped behind Hermione's shield. It was all that was stopping the three rogue wizards from seriously harming them.

Hermione uttered a low curse through clenched teeth, startling Ginny. She noted with some worry that her friend was beginning to sweat heavily, breath harder and generally look fatigued. It was both good and bad news then that the rest of the group burst in.

Idrial saw this, and with some alarm brought them to a halt using some frantic signals. She appeared to have a definite talent. The wizards noticed none of this, busy as they were attacking the shield with any potentially lethal spell they could think of.

Silently, Aragon, Legolas and Gimli unsheathed their swords and simultaneously aimed a blow at each wizard who promptly crumpled. Hermione let the shield go with a little gasp and her legs went from beneath her.

To Ron's chagrin, Legolas stepped forward quickly and caught her. Harry ran past her, and swept Ginny into a tight hug that Ron suffered to happen. Gandlaf leaned forward on his staff and examined the city outside.

"We must leave this place now." he said to the group at large. "Where?" Aragon demanded wearily. "I will not go to Gondor so long as Denethor is there." This was enthusiastically seconded by the natives of Middle Earth.

Gandalf treated them to a half-hearted glare. He agreed completely. "We shall got to Rohan." he said severely. "Theodore will welcome us. He requires help; Rohan is the worst affected." Aragon looked slightly more pleased at this. He and the rest of the group headed to the camp. They had preparations to take care of.

* * *

_This chapter was typed up in a hurry, and I don't have time to proof-read. Tell me of any mistakes, and also if you simply enjoyed/disliked it. I love to hear from any reader. More action is promised in up-coming chapters._


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